The style business is infamous for chasing developments, usually on the expense of the very shoppers who’ve probably the most spending energy. In 2025, the McKinsey State of Style Report recognized the over-50s—dubbed the ‘Silver Spenders’—because the demographic that retailers needs to be concentrating on. Whereas the title itself is outdated, the core message is simple: midlife girls are a crucial market pressure, but they continue to be an afterthought for a lot of excessive avenue manufacturers.
The Spending Energy of Midlife Girls
This demographic shouldn’t be solely financially steady but additionally actively looking for high quality style that aligns with their way of life and physique shapes. They’re residing longer, getting older gracefully, and have a transparent sense of private type. Regardless of this, a go to to the excessive avenue usually ends in disappointment, with few choices catering to their wants. As a substitute, youthful shoppers—a lot of whom are battling pupil debt, rising hire prices, and restricted disposable revenue—proceed to be the focus of selling campaigns.
The place the Excessive Avenue Fails
Style manufacturers are lacking a key alternative. The excessive avenue is crowded with uninspiring collections that fail to acknowledge the type evolution of girls over 50. Retailers proceed to make use of 20-something fashions to market clothes to an viewers that appears nothing like them. The consequence? Girls in midlife aged fifty are left pissed off, uninspired, and more and more turning away from mainstream style.
Stylists like Anna Berkeley emphasize the significance of proportion and match. She suggests manufacturers like Cos and Arket as uncommon examples of shops that provide well-structured, fashionable choices for older girls. Nevertheless, these manufacturers stay the exception moderately than the rule. Impartial shops, which historically offered distinctive and high-quality items, are struggling towards rising enterprise prices, making them more durable to search out.
The Various: Southeast Asia’s Tailoring Renaissance
If the British and Italian excessive streets gained’t cater to midlife girls, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. One vacation spot that will get it proper is Hoi An, Vietnam. This charming city is a mecca for bespoke tailoring, providing plus-size style that isn’t ridiculously overpriced. The native artisans right here have perfected the artwork of custom-fit clothes, working tirelessly to create one-of-a-kind items for discerning purchasers.
Past clothes, Southeast Asia offers a treasure trove of distinctive equipment. From baroque pearl tiaras to handmade silver jewellery, there’s an simple allure in working instantly with artisans. I’ve had rings resized, YSL classic buttons upcycled into bracelets, and a group of ten silver items made in Vietnam—all for lower than $1,000. The fantastic thing about this method is that the cash goes straight to the creator, making certain honest compensation for his or her craftsmanship.
A Misplaced Artwork within the West
In distinction, the European style business, notably in Italy, is dropping its artisanal edge. The hunt for distinctive, high-quality style has change into more and more tough. Whereas Italian designers work tirelessly, they’re paid barely greater than their Asian counterparts however don’t obtain direct cost for his or her work. The normal channels of manufacturing and distribution are riddled with middlemen, inflating costs whereas decreasing the connection between the maker and the buyer.
Time for Change
Excessive avenue retailers want to acknowledge that the over-50s shopper is not only one other class—they’re a strong pressure that may form the business’s future. They search type, high quality, and craftsmanship over fleeting developments. Manufacturers that refuse to cater to them are leaving cash on the desk.
Retailers should rethink their method, introducing extra inclusive sizing, utilizing older fashions in advertising, and providing kinds which are each elegant and sensible. Till then, midlife girls will proceed to hunt alternate options—whether or not by way of bespoke tailoring in Vietnam or impartial designers who respect their wants.
The query stays: will the excessive avenue get up earlier than it’s too late?
